'It's rare to see Ranveer Singh off-camera. He disappears. He doesn't like to be on set. Only when the shot is ready, he is there.'
'He doesn't want any nonsense, no interaction.'
'If anything would go wrong, he would really get pissed.'
Key Points
- Rouhallah Gazi played Sihayi in Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar.
- The character dies in the climax, so he will not be a part of the sequel, releasing March 19.
- Gazi is a Kashmiri, and has worked in Brahmastra.
The blockbuster success has made all the characters of Dhurandhar popular.
Siyahi, who was a loyal member of Rehman Dacait's gang, may not have lived long enough to be a part of the film's upcoming sequel, but he made sure he created an impression.
The character was played by Rouhallah Gazi, a Kashmiri model, who is just starting his movie career.
Gazi almost made his debut in Dinesh Vijan's Raabta, but got replaced by Jim Sarbh. He finally got his break with Ayan Mukerji's Brahmastra Part One: Shiva, followed by Dhurandhar.
He shares some interesting anecdotes from Dhurandhar, and tells Ronjita Kulkarni/Rediff, "Day one, I saw that power in Ranveer Singh's eyes. Dhurandhar took about 14 months to get made, and that power I saw on Day One stayed right till the end. He maintained that aura throughout."
'It took three hours to do the makeup every day'
Sihayi means ink, that's why I got this look.
Preetisheel Singh made the look with the help of prosthetics.
It took three hours to do the makeup every day. I had to just sit, and close my eyes, for hours.
This acting field is all about patience. The more patient you are, the closer it will get you to where to want to be. It's not easy, not even for Ranveer Singh. They are all hard working. I've seen Ranveer Singh working out, even in between shots.
Even when I worked with Ranbir Kapoor in Brahmastra, he would push me to work out when we were shooting in Bulgaria.
'It looked like it was boiling, but it wasn't'
Watch the making of the scene here:
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That pressure cooker scene was shot in Thailand.
After the guy was thrown inside the pressure cooker, I banged the lid shut, and then improvised a bit by banging it with my hand.
They had created bubbles and some ripples in the coloured liquid, so it looked like it was boiling, but it wasn't. The fire effect was created by placing light underneath that pressure cooker.
When people saw this scene, they were like, how ruthless!
'If anything would go wrong, Ranveer Singh would really get pissed'
It's rare to see Ranveer Singh off-camera. He disappears. He doesn't like to be on set. Only when the shot is ready, he is there.
He doesn't want any nonsense, no interaction.
If anything would go wrong, he would really get pissed. He doesn't like noise and would tell everyone on the mic to be quiet.
The conditions were crazy then, shooting under the hot sun, in Punjab, Thailand and Mumbai.
Ranveer loves to work, so he would keep telling everyone to be dedicated.
He also did not like last minute changes because he would come prepared for his shot.
But he was really nice with the director (Aditya Dhar), and would ask if he could improvise. The director used to say, please do it. His shots were mostly in one take. He was so sure and crisp about everything.
Day one, I saw that power in his eyes. Dhurandhar took about 14 months to get made, and that power I saw on Day One stayed right till the end. He maintained that aura throughout.
'The climax was shot six months later, but the choreography was already ready'
When we shot the scene where Rehman Dacait's son gets poisoned, Ranveer Singh and I shared a moment, pictured above.
We were shooting in Amritsar, in an old haveli that was converted into Rehman Dacoit's house.
Ranveer had had a baby, and had just returned from his break.
That day, he walked straight up to me, told me that I'm so excited to see you because I just saw the fight choreography of our climax scene in the jungle. The climax was shot six months later, but the choreography was already ready.
He said, I can't wait to share it with you.
He kept praising me.
I kept looking at him, did not say anything.
'When I first met Aditya Dhar, he spoke to me in Kashmiri'
When I first met Aditya Dhar, he spoke to me in Kashmiri.
He is a genius.
On the first day of the film, when we all met in his office, he showed us -- the boys in Rehman Dacait's gang -- exactly what he wanted. He showed us Lehari, he showed the characters, Rehman Dacait...
Everyone was excited.
There were so many ups and downs during the shoot but Aditya Dhar would never get stressed, he would always be calm.
He would talk to me about Kashmir, about my stuff, my life. When it was time for the shot, he would come and talk to you. Then, he would go sit in front of the monitor. It was very easy to follow him.
'It was a major accident, and everyone came running'
We shot the climax at Aarey Milk Colony (Goregaon, northwest Mumbai).
It was so difficult to run through the jungle in that salwar!
Ranveer got hurt thrice.
Before that chase started, there is a scene where I come on the bike, and see Rehman Dacait hurt in the car. I ask him kisne mara, and he tells me, Hamza ran this way, chodna mat.
There was some water in that scene, and I didn't realise how much water would be there. I was riding in from a distance, and had to ride very fast.
So when I zoomed closer, I suddenly saw water everywhere, and the bike skid. It was a major accident, and everyone came running. Even Akshaye Khanna sir came out of the car. Aditya Dhar sir came. Everyone on the set came, asking me if I was fine.
Luckily, I fell on the gun that I was carrying, and went sliding on it. So the injury wasn't that much. My knee got bruised, my elbows got scraped.
Ranveer and I rehearsed that fight choreography a lot, with body doubles. He used to write his choreography on paper. I've never seen any actor do that.
Action is a little tricky, it's all calculated stuff. You can't miss out. You need to know the beats. Like how actors train in theatre, it’s the same thing with action. Vahan par aap bolte ho, yahaan par aap karte ho.
The action team had come from South Korea, and they were amazing,
Watch the BTS of the climax chase here
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'I don't feel bad that I'm not in Dhurandhar 2'
Dhurandhar 2 is all about Ranveer's part. I don't feel bad because my role was just that much. I'm happy with what I got.
So many people told me, we will call you, you were so good.
The shoot took me a year-and-a-half, and I had to maintain the continuity throughout. I had to be in the same shape, same look -- I had a longer beard -- so maintaining that took a lot of effort.
'I became famous online'
Life didn't change much after Dhurandhar, but yeah, because everything is online now, you get more visibility, especially on Instagram. I became famous online, getting 30 million views!
Back home in Kashmir, everyone saw it, everyone was happy.
I did not watch Dhurandhar first day, first show, when it released in December. I was like, let everyone watch. I was already in the film, so why should I go and watch it?
Everyone watched it, and were amazed, so after 15 days, I was like, okay, I will also go and watch it. When I did, I was like, wow! I don't like to watch films beyond two hours, I feel sleepy, but this was so gripping!
'I even knew Sushant Singh Rajput's lines in Rabta'
I was born in Kashmir. After my secondary exams, I went to Bangalore and started modelling. I took part in Bangalore Fashion Week. There, I got to meet people from Mumbai, and came here.
I did Lakme Fashion Week, shot for major fashion magazines like Vogue... I modelled for five-six years.
Being a model, I got a chance to work for a Telugu film in 2015. That was the first time I faced a moving camera. It was really tough for me. In the initial 10 days, I was suffering! I had not done any theatre, or acting crash courses.
They had approached me on WhatsApp because they liked my look. I told them I am not an actor, how will I manage? They said, no problem, we will manage.
After that, Mukesh Chhabra cast me in Raabta in 2015. I worked in that film for 15 days, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.
I got to meet real actors. A teacher was hired for Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon and me.
I read the whole script, some 115 pages, and memorised it all. I even knew Sushant Singh Rajput's lines! But later, they let me go. The role went to Jim Sarbh. I felt bad.
Then, auditions for Brahmastra started in 2017. We shot for the film in Bulgaria. I got a chance to meet Amitabh Bachchan sir, and Nagarjuna sir. We finished shooting for Brahmastra in 2019, and then COVID happened.
I returned to Kashmir. My dad used to make carpets in Kashmir, so when I had nothing to do, I started working on my clothing line, Gazi Kasheer.
After Dhurandhar, I will make my Hollywood debut with Daniel Kooman and Mathew Kooman's Daniel, starring Mena Massoud. I'm playing a magician from the Babylon empire.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
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